Four children in New Jersey were reportedly present in their family home while a dispute between their parents turned deadly. A teenage girl protected her younger siblings from hearing the fight by moving them into another room of the house. Meanwhile, their father, Gustavo Juarez-Perez, was confronting their mother, which led to the woman’s death.
Now, the man faces prison time, and the children have learned they may have to live life without either of their parents.
On March 8, 2025, at 9:12 p.m., Gustavo Juarez-Perez, called 911 the Asbury Park Press reported. “I killed my wife,” he told the dispatcher, adding that his children, ages 3, 10, 12, and 14, were also in the house in South Toms River.
The police dispatcher asked if the victim was conscious. “No, she is dead,” the man replied. He told the police dispatcher that he lost control during an argument. “I hit her and I used my belt,” he admitted, saying he choked his wife with the belt. “After 11 years being together with little ones, she cheat on me multiple times and she confessed, and I was so upset and I [lost] control.”
When police arrived at the home, they found his wife, Cheyanne Juarez, with blood on her face. The belt was still around her neck. Juarez-Perez was taken into custody. Elsewhere in the home, they found the three young children the couple shared. Juarez-Perez’s teenage daughter from another relationship was also in the home.
The 14-year-old girl told police that her father had moved out of the home at the beginning of March. He had returned to speak with the victim, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The teen told police she heard “yelling and screaming” when the couple went into the bedroom to talk. She then heard the victim say “it hurts,” in Spanish. She then took the younger children into the bedroom.
The teen’s mother arrived at the house, taking custody of all four children. None of them were harmed, the affidavit said.
Later, Juarez-Perez was charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of that weapon. He has agreed to stay detained pending his trial in Ocean County Superior Court. When detectives attempted to take his statement, Juarez-Perez began crying and asked for a lawyer. Additionally, there was red staining on his jeans believed to be blood, the affidavit said.
Police spoke with the victim’s roommate, Gisika Solir, who lived in the basement with her children. She claimed that on March 3, the victim told her she had broken up with her husband.
Investigators also spoke with Juarez-Perez’s brother, Ivan Juarez. The brother told police that Juarez-Perez said he was having trouble with his wife. He didn’t hear from his brother again until March 8.
He got a text saying “I killed my wife,” the affidavit said.
